Sweet relief

Paul Risso's 40-year quest to play professional baseball finally became a reality last Wednesday in a small minor league park in New Mexico.

Jagdip Dhillon

Paul Risso's 40-year quest to play professional baseball finally became a reality last Wednesday in a small minor league park in New Mexico.

The 60-year-old pitched one shutout inning for the Raton Osos of the independent Pecos League against the Sante Fe Fuego at Fort Marcy Park with his wife, Aileen, four of his sons, his sister Loretta and his sister-in-law Alison Lockheed of Lodi in the stands hanging on every pitch.

The father of five sons had his professional baseball dream ripped away from him when he blew out his right shoulder while pitching for the College of San Mateo in 1973, just one month after being drafted in the sixth round that year by the Pittsburgh Pirates. When Risso's "dead arm" didn't improve over the next six months, his dreams of playing pro ball were dead as well.

"It was devastating for our family," said Loretta Risso, who drove to New Mexico from Citrus Heights with Lockheed for the game. "We were just shattered."

Four decades later, Paul Risso needed just nine pitches to get three outs in the sixth inning of a 5-4 loss Wednesday. He admitted being extremely nervous in the days leading up to the game, but his nerves settled after a 70-pitch bullpen session prior to entering the contest. The first batter singled off Risso, but he induced two ground outs and a pop up to end the frame.

"It was all I could have hoped for and it was over before I knew it," Risso said. "Certainly, if you do get just one inning, you want it to be brief, not long."

Risso was a pitcher's son, as his father, Albert, had pitched for Reno in the Sunset League in 1949, but retired due to an arm injury as well. Albert Risso remained involved in baseball coaching and even did some scouting for the San Francisco Giants, but he never got to see his son follow in his footsteps and become a professional ballplayer.

"We used to play catch every day," said Paul Risso, who was born in San Francisco and raised in Redwood City. "He was always my coach when I was growing up and we used to played year round in the Bay Area."

Albert Risso passed away in 1984 and Paul Risso said his father was in the forefront of his mind when he took the mound Wednesday night.

"Oh heck yeah, I was thinking about him," Paul Risso said. "I just reverted back to what my dad would tell me: 'Keep it down and throw strikes.' It was really emotional."

Risso's shoulder gave him enough pain where he didn't throw a baseball for 33 years after his injury for San Mateo. He lived a full life for those three-plus decades, getting married twice, having five sons and a successful career in the water utility industry. Risso, who lived in Stockton from 1978-95 and 2001-04 and met his wife Aileen here, eventually picked up a baseball at a company function in Visalia and noticed the lack of pain when he threw some batting practice.

After just tossing a baseball against a wall for months, Risso began pitching again in a men's senior league in New Mexico in 2006 and noticed his velocity was nearing the 80s despite his advanced age. Risso said he then had vivid dreams where his father was coaching him in a bullpen session and telling him he had something left.

"He really came alive when he started doing it," said Aileen Risso, who is a Stockton native and St. Mary's High graduate. "Those dreams motivated him to take it to the next level. It's been a long journey to get to this point and it was just the best to see him where he wanted to be."

Risso, who has lived in Los Lunas, New Mexico, since 2004, announced his decision to pursue professional baseball again to his family on Father's Day of 2006. He tried out a few teams for other teams in the Pecos League and other independent league teams in the Southwest the past seven years, but couldn't land a roster spot even though he impressed onlookers with his pitching ability.

"I could see he wanted to play so bad, because he was at so many tryout camps," Pecos League commissioner Andrew Dunn said. "I just knew it meant a lot to him, and it's a tribute to him that he pitched a scoreless inning."

Risso's story gained national attention this summer when The Associated Press covered his attempts to make the St. Paul Saints in Minnesota in May and NBC's "Today" show did a feature on him earlier this month. That publicity helped him land a spot on the Osos and an inning that will last forever.

"It was just so amazing," Loretta Risso said. "He's such a good man. He's my brother and my hero. It meant so much because he worked so hard to get there. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears and pain put into it and he never complained."

Risso was also very thankful of his teammates on the Osos and how members of the Fuego handled his appearance. Risso said it was neat to be around a bunch of players in their early-20s still chasing their dream.

"All the players were really happy for me and were terrific guys," Risso said. "It was just a great experience. It was a really nice way to have this chapter of my life end."